by L A Cotton
Bastard.
The house was quiet. I checked in on Eli, watching him sleep for a second, and then I checked on Mom. I hadn’t noticed it at first glance, but there was a small envelope on the kitchen table with my name scrawled across the front.
I didn’t need to look inside to know what it was. I snatched it up and went to my room, anger burning through my veins. He’d come here, to my house, to deliver more pot. What the hell was he thinking? Mom knew all about Darryl’s side business—hell, the whole town knew. It was precisely the reason I distanced myself from Kendall when I’d started high school. I’d tried everything to stay out of their grasp, but they always found a way to pull me back in. First Mom and then Eli. He’d offer to help out with bills and Mom’s medication when she was diagnosed with depression after Dad had left, but over time, she started self-medicating, and Elaina and Darryl were all too happy to oblige in that department, dangling the threat of Eli being taken into care if anyone ever found out about her addiction. About the kind of woman she’d become.
My fists clenched at my sides. What choice did I have? We had no one else.
After shoving the envelope into my drawer, I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into bed. The room plunged into darkness as I hit the switch, and I traced the shadows dancing on the ceiling. Eli’s birthday was next week, and all he wanted was for Mom and me to take him for ice cream and then to the park. What four-year-old’s only birthday wish was for his mom to spend time with him? It was wrong—so wrong. I wanted to do something special for him, and I’d saved up some cash for the occasion, but I knew Mom wouldn’t appreciate me upstaging her. She’d rather throw Eli a tea party at Elaina’s and claim the credit. The thought of spending another day with them made me feel physically sick.
My cell phone vibrated, and I reached for it.
Thank you. For everything.
Becca xx
I smiled, my fingers flying over the screen. Didn’t she get it? I was the one who needed to thank her. She was too good for me, for my family. Yet she’d let me in and given herself to me. Even after the way I treated her when she’d first arrived.
Just promise me, no more running?
Okay. Night, Evan x
I didn’t know why it was so important for me to hear her say it, but I was tired of chasing her. Of backing her into a corner. If she didn’t want to tell me about her past, fine, but I needed to know she was in this thing with me. All in. Because good things rarely came around in a place like Credence, and Becca was good; I felt it in my bones. And I didn’t intend to let her go without a fight.
~
“Three more days, three more days,” Eli sang as he danced around the living room. “Then I’ll be a biiiiiig boy.”
“Yes, you will, but you’ll still be Momma’s baby.” Mom ruffled his hair as she made her way to the bathroom. She was already late for work, so I’d offered to drop her on the way to pre-K.
“But I don’t wanna be a baby anymore; I want to be a big boy.”
“Four is pretty big,” I said. “You’ll be as big as I am in no time.”
Eli ran and tackled my legs, whooping into the air. “And we can still go and get ice cweam and go to the park, right?”
“Well, baby, Momma thought we could have a little party at Aunty Elaina’s.” She crouched down to him. “Won’t that be fun?”
“Ahw, Mom, you promwised. Ice cweam and then the park.”
“I know, baby, I know, but won’t this be so much more fun? We can have cake and sandwiches, and you can play with Rocky.”
Eli’s arms dropped to his side, and he pouted. “But I wanted ice cweam with you, Ev, and Becca.”
“Excuse me?” Mom straightened, her voice clipped. “What did you say?”
Eli ducked his head. “I said I wanted ice cweam with you and Ev and Becca.”
“Is this your doing?” she hissed at me, keeping her voice low enough that I hoped Eli couldn’t hear.
I shook my head, glaring at her.
“Baby, birthdays are about family. Becca isn’t family. We’re your family.”
My body tensed, bristling with anger. She was being completely unreasonable, and just when I hoped she was coming around to the idea of Becca being in my life.
“It’s my birthday, and I want Becca there,” Eli shrieked, causing Mom’s face to turn a deep shade of red. Before she could react, I scooped Eli up and grabbed my keys.
“We’ll meet you in the car.”
Eli buried his face in my shoulder.
“Hey, buddy, you’re not crying, are you?”
He sniffled. “No, big boys don’t cry.”
“Damn right, they don’t.” I pried his chin up with my finger. “Listen, will you promise to keep a secret?”
Eli nodded enthusiastically, the disappointment melting away.
“We’ll have two birthdays.”
“Two?” His eyes lit up.
“Yeah, but we can’t tell Mom, okay?”
“Okay. Can Becca come?”
“I’m sure she’d love to.” Maybe it made me a bad person to tell my little brother to keep things from his mom, but I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in his eyes. He deserved the kind of birthday he wanted. And I couldn’t blame him for wanting Becca there. She was good to him. To us. Too fucking good. I strapped Eli into his seat and waited for Mom. She appeared a few seconds later, her face still screwed up in a scowl. “He’s four; he didn’t deserve that,” I said coolly.
Her scowl deepened. “This is all your fault.”
“Get in the car,” I snapped, unwilling to do this again. Her shit was getting old. She slid into the passenger seat, and I rounded the driver’s side.
“Hi, baby. Momma’s sorry she spoke like that. I love you, baby. You know that, right?”
“I love you too, Momma.”
Her eyes burned into the side of my head, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I dropped her off at the store first and then delivered Eli to pre-K. By the time he reached the doors, all was forgotten, and he was filled with excitement at the thought of not one, but two birthday celebrations.
When I pulled into the school parking lot, Becca was standing with Lilly and Jay. It was good to see her with them. Lilly had been a good friend to her, and Becca needed friends. I couldn’t be around to watch her all the time, and I felt better knowing the others were looking out for her. I wanted to believe Kendall wouldn’t do anything, but I’d caught her leering at us more than once —at Becca—and it felt like all this could slip through my fingers at any moment.
“Hi,” she said, approaching me as I climbed out of the Impala.
“Hi. I missed you this morning.” I’d wanted to double back and pick her up, but she’d insisted on walking.
“Well, I’m here now.” She smiled at me bashfully, and I closed the distance between us, drawing her closer and sealing my lips over her. Someone coughed, and I turned my head to meet Jay’s amused grin. “Don’t mind us,” he said, stifling a laugh.
“Fucker,” I murmured under my breath, hugging my girl tighter.
“Come on; we should go to class,” she whispered, neither of us breaking away. Lilly and Jay left, but not before he grumbled something about us getting a room.
“We really should get to class, Evan.”
But I just held her, staring into her eyes, trying to tell her everything I felt. Her cheeks flushed, and I knew if I pulled her jacket back, it would match the color of her neck. It did something to me—knowing I affected her this way—and I knew if we didn’t move soon, we wouldn’t be making class.
Stealing one last kiss, I grabbed her hand and started moving.
Becca
Everything was perfect.
Well, as perfect as it could be when your mom didn’t want you to date the guy you’d fallen head over heels for, and his mom wasn’t keen on the idea either. But for two blissful days, life continued without any drama. We went to classes, Evan came by the diner with Eli in tow yesterday
, and we had the whole day planned Sunday for the little guy’s birthday.
It was almost too good to be true.
“So we’ll definitely see you tomorrow night, and you’re coming tonight still, right?” Lilly called as Jay dragged her down the hallway as if he couldn’t wait another second for them to be alone.
“Yes, I think so. Text me.”
She grinned, giggling when Jay leaned down and whispered something to her. I rolled my eyes; they were so crazy for one another it was a little sickening. But when an arm curved around my waist, and Evan’s lips pressed to the skin along the nape of my neck, a shudder worked its way through me, and I grinned. God, were we as bad as Lilly and Jay now?
“Hi.” His voice was low and smooth and had a direct line to my body.
“Hi,” I replied. Leaning into his kiss, I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access.
“I can’t wait to ge—” His jean pocket started vibrating, and he sighed against my skin. “I need to take this.”
“Go, go. I’ll be out in second.” I didn’t need to hear his mom on another one of her crusades to drive a wedge between us.
Evan nodded as he walked down the hallway. I watched him for a couple of seconds and then opened my locker. My jaw clenched at the sight of another note. I grabbed it and started to crumple it up, but something stopped me, and I found myself opening it.
I balled up the paper and dumped it in the nearest trashcan, telling myself that it was just another empty threat.
When I exited the building, Evan was waiting next to his Impala. He pushed off the car and came over to me. “Everything okay?”
“Fine.” I smiled. Everything was fine. Kendall was just trying to spook me, probably pissed that Evan and I were parading around school together, but eventually, she would get bored and move onto her next target. That was how bullies like her worked. I just needed to ride it out. Weather the storm.
“Mom wants me home to help with birthday preparations, but I’ll see you tomorrow after the party, right?”
“Of course.”
Evan tapped the hood of the car and went around to the driver’s side. I climbed inside, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach. Nothing had changed. Evan and I were okay. Better than okay, we were good. Things between us were great.
“He’s going to be so excited on Sunday.” The car roared to life. “He thinks the world of you, you know?”
“He’s a cute kid. I enjoy spending time with him.”
“I’m not sure I like sharing, though.” He glanced sideways at me, a smirk tugging at his mouth, and heat pooled in my stomach. Part of me wanted to ask him to blow off his mom and take me somewhere. Just the two of us. But I could never do that to Eli. And I would never ask Evan to choose.
Evan dropped me off at my house, leaving me breathless with a searing kiss. Mom saw it, the scowl on her face told me as much as I stalked past her.
“You have some mail. I put it in your room.”
Mail?
“Thanks,” I said, helping myself to a glass of water before heading upstairs. Sure enough, on my desk was a white envelope addressed to me. I ran my thumb underneath the fold and ripped the paper open. My fingers trembled, panic clawing up my throat, and when my eyes landed on the contents, I stumbled back onto my bed. The backs of my knees hit the edge, and I landed with a soft thud.
It couldn’t be.
It couldn’t.
But it was. Staring back at me in all its sickening glory were images of me and Kane. Him kissing my neck, his hands over my half-naked body. Lust oozed off the prints, and I had to fight the bile rushing up my throat.
No.
No.
How was this possible? How did she have these? I remembered the night—it was forever imprinted in my brain. The night I gave myself to a guy seven years my senior. A guy so much more experienced than I was; a guy who pushed my boundaries and took my virginity and then used it against me. The photos fluttered to the floor as I bolted into the small bathroom and threw up. Heaving and retching memories of that night into the bowl.
How?
How was it possible?
I flushed and rinsed my face, dashing back into my room. My fingers trembled as I fumbled with the photographs, six in total. Grainy images of his room in the small apartment he and his father rented on the outskirts on Montecito. Skin on skin. My head tipped back, desire and lust and nerves written all over my face.
My stomach churned again, and I closed my eyes. Dropping my head, I dragged long calming breaths into my lung. The vibrating beside me hurtled me back to reality. This was real. This wasn’t some sick, cruel prank.
Grabbing the cell phone, I stared at the message as my world fell from under me.
Ready to play?
~
“You seem on edge. Is everything okay?” Lilly whispered, craning her head around to me as we sat with Mischa and Scarlett, watching the guys goof around.
“Fine. I’m fine.” My voice was clipped. I glanced around our little corner of Rogues. I hadn’t wanted to come, but when Scarlett and Lilly turned up outside my house like old times, I found myself saying bye to Mom and Dad and promising not to be late.
Being holed up alone in my room wasn’t doing me any good. My thoughts were a dangerous thing. At least here, surrounded by Lilly and the others, I could try to ignore the urge to run. To get as far away from Credence as I possibly could.
My eyes widened at the sight of Kendall and her friends over by the derelict arcade.
“Oh, shit,” Lilly hissed, causing the guys’ heads to whip up.
“Ignore her, Becca. We got you.” Vin stretched his arms out in front of him as if I had nothing to worry about.
“I’ll be right back.” I leaped up, adrenaline pumping through me. I didn’t know what I intended on doing, but I couldn’t run. It wasn’t an option. I needed to stand up to her once and for all—to find out how the hell she got her hands on the photos. They didn’t show anything other than me getting it on with a guy, but if they got out—if Evan found out—it would open a can of worms I wasn’t prepared to deal with. Couldn’t deal with.
Those photos jeopardized everything.
“Becca, don’t give her the satisfaction,” someone called from behind me, but it was too late. I was already moving.
“You.” I jabbed my finger in her direction. “We need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you.” She sounded bored. Her two friends stepped closer, amusement sparkling in their eyes.
“Well, I have something to say to you.”
Kendall nibbled her thumb, widening her eyes. Waiting.
“How’d you get them?”
“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”
My gaze hardened. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“You see, honey”—she inched forward—“you think because you rolled into town and went shopping at the thrift store and got your nose pierced that you’ve escaped who you really are?” Her voice was low, meant only for me, and I caught the flash of confusion in her friends’ eyes.
“How. Did. You. Get. The. Photos?” I ground out in a hushed voice, rage rippling out of me like a wave. If my question surprised her, Kendall didn’t let on as her lip quirked up. As if the whole thing amused her. “The internet is a big place, Becca. Nothing stays hidden for long.”
Why did that sound like another threat? What was her end game?
I was aware of people behind me. Lilly and Scarlett and probably the guys too. But this wasn’t a conversation I wanted everyone to hear. Maybe they thought I was referring to the other photos, the ones anyone could have discovered on the internet if they Googled me. I might have deactivated my Facebook profile long before moving here, but I couldn’t get rid of the digital footprint charting my life at Montecito Prep.
“Why can’t you just leave me alone? I haven’t done anything to you.” My voice was desperate, and I hated it, but deep down, underneath all the hostil
ity and mega-bitch, she was still a person.
Kendall leaned in, her proximity disarming me. “I will destroy you. Play the game, Becca. Play the game, or I’ll make sure everyone in this town knows just what a dirty little bitch you really are.”
My face paled, the color draining away until I felt naked before her. She knew; the sincerity in her voice told me as much. And even though she couldn’t know all the details, somehow, someway, Kendall knew enough to leverage me into her game.
Realization slapped me in the face.
Kane had taken the photos. There was a film too. All of which were handed over as part of the deal made to silence his father. To protect me. My reputation … my future.
“Thought so. You want to keep Evan and your friends and any hopes of surviving the year, then be ready. It’s about to get interesting.” With that, she swished away, her friends hurrying after her.
“Becca?” A hand landed on my shoulder, and I flinched. “What was all that about?”
“Nothing.” I turned slowly, schooling my features and forcing down the tears. “It was nothing. Everything’s fine.”
But everything was not fine.
Not by a long shot.
Evan
“How’re things with Barbie Bella?”
I paid Kendall no attention, keeping my focus on Eli as he chased Rocky around Elaina and Darryl’s yard.
“Oh, come on, we’re family. You can talk to me about this stuff.”
Was she for real? I shrugged my shoulders, readjusting my arms as I leaned against the doorjamb.
“Evan.” Her hand landed on my arm, and I flinched. Her touch repulsed me to the core. “Don’t be like that. I just want to know if you’re happy. Is she making you happy?” Her words dripped with sarcasm and jealousy; it was ugly. She was ugly.
“Stay away from her, Kendall. I mean it. Come after Becca, and you’ll regret it.” I barged past her, ignoring her gasp when my shoulder bumped with hers and headed outside.
